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Morrison And Llanos Seal Ironman Texas Titles

  • By Paul Moore
  • Published May 22, 2011
  • Updated May 22, 2011 at 5:30 pm

Catriona Morrison and Eneko Llanos both surrendered their Ironman Lanzarote titles on the same day that they took the inaugural Ironman Texas titles on a hot, humid day in Galveston. Morrison, who had said that she was simply out to finish the race, registered an emphatic ten minute victory, while Llanos built up a two minute advantage on the bike which he carried through the run.

The Men’s Race
As expected, Hawaiian super swimmer John Flanagan exited the water at the head of the field (46:20), taking a near three minute advantage into T1 over Tim O’Donnell (49:14) and Llanos (49:28) amongst others. One of the other pre-race favourites, Chris Lieto, had surrendered a further three minutes to the chasing pack.

Not that that mattered too much. because while Flanagan was able to hold onto the lead until mile 40, it didn’t take Lieto long to turn on the gas and take the race by the scruff of the neck. And while Llanos tried to go with the American uber-biker, Lieto’s incredible 4:15:13 bike split on a tough, hilly course gave him a 7:30 advantage going into T2 over Llanos and Luke Bell.


The Women’s Race
Kelly Williamson led the women out the water in 53:12, with Dede Griesbauer just over twelve seconds back (53:24). Out on the bike, Sofie Goos was the first to move to the head of the pack (that was despite a fall at one point), with Tine Deckers slightly further back. Cat Morrison, meanwhile, was just winding up and moving ominously through the field. Deckers, however, was riding strong and slowly started to build a cushion at the front of the field. With Morrison in second, the Belgian strung out the lead over the Scot to 5:47, which was extended when Morrison picked up a penalty.

Not that that was going to stop the Scot. Morrison has repeatedly displayed her strength on the run, and this time was no different. Within the first five miles the gap to Deckers was down to just over two minutes, and by seven miles it was just 19 seconds. Then the Scot made her move. In the words of the Ironman commentator ‘she went by Tine Deckers like the Belgian was parked’ and didn’t look back after that. A 3:04:14 marathon was enough o give her the win in 8:57:51. Williamson took second (9:07:54) with Sofie Goos third (9:12:53). Tine Deckers, meanwhile, faded to fifth (9:19:27).

Ironman Texas
Results

Top 5 Men
1. Eneko Llanos (ESP) 8:08:20
2. Tim O’Donnell (USA) 8:09:50
3. Luke Bell (AUS) 8:12:22
4. Jan Raphael (GER) 8:20:41
5. Jozsef Major (HUN) 8:24:17

Top 5 Women
1. Catriona Morrison (GBR) 8:57:51
2. Kelly Williamson (USA) 9:07:54
3. Sofie Goos (BEL) 9:12:53
4. Tyler Stewart (USA) 9:13:13
5. Tine Deckers (BEL) 9:19:27

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Paul Moore

Paul Moore

Paul Moore is the Online Editor for Triathlete Europe. When not glued to a computer he can be found writing books - most recently Ultimate Triathlon: A complete training guide for long-distance triathletes which you can buy on Amazon